


Set me down in your warm arms

by echoknight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: (hera loves a good hair tug), Blind Kanan Jarrus, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kanan Jarrus Needs a Hug, Post-Malachor, Some light making out, kanan is a sad puppy but hera is there, really glad that tag exists, who doesn't love a good hair tug amirite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23723992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoknight/pseuds/echoknight
Summary: Kanan felt Hera’s slender hands on either side of his face, turning it to face her own.“I can’t see you,” he whispered.“You can always see me,” Hera said firmly. “I need you to promise me something.”“Anything,” he murmured. He would give her anything, even now. He would offer her the galaxy if he could get it, if he knew that it would make her happy.“Promise me that you’ll stop hiding in this room,” Hera said.After Malachor, Kanan feels lost. Hera helps him find himself again.
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus & Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 11
Kudos: 85





	Set me down in your warm arms

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished Rebels and needed to do something about it, namely write about the best couple ever, Kanan and Hera. This takes place days after 2x22, aka "Twilight of the Apprentice, Part II," so the whole blindness thing is very fresh for Kanan. I have no idea how the formatting turned out, but hopefully it's fine!

Kanan knew that he was lucky. Fortunate, Master Billaba would say, and she had been as familiar with the injury that came with defeat as anybody – the physical toll, and the mental.  
  
He had the force to guide him, so he could never truly be blind, but that didn’t keep him from bumping into corners around the ship. He had thought he had known the Ghost so well, after all these years, but the layout seemed far different when everything was dark.  
  
But unlike wearing a blindfold, he couldn’t lift the shroud of darkness from his eyes. It would be there forever. His heart clenched.  
  
He knew he should be out of his small room, spending time with the others. Training Ezra. He hadn’t spent as much time with Ezra lately as he knew he should. Ezra was keeping his distance anyway – probably giving him time to heal. Time wasn’t the problem, though. Time wasn’t what was holding him back.  
  
A small rap at his door. Hera. He could always feel her, her presence bright and blazing in the force. It was part of what he loved about her – no matter where she was, how she was feeling, she was so alive, a beacon against the darkness. His guiding light.  
  
“Come in,” Kanan said. He heard the whisk of the doors opening and closing.  
  
“What are you doing sitting here in – “ Hera started, and then cut herself off.  
  
“In the dark?” Kanan finished for her. He forced his lips to quirk into a smile. “It’s always dark for me now.”  
  
It had been a few days since they had taken the bandages from his eyes. He still rubbed them sometimes, expecting his vision to miraculously clear, but his vision was always the same – dark, colorless, sightless.  
  
“Sitting in the dark can be a state of mind,” Hera said, and Kanan could hear the gentleness behind the playful tone. “The kids are outside, helping set up gear for Chopper base. We could use an extra pair of hands.”  
  
“Not sure that I would be much help,” Kanan said. He felt her sigh more than he heard it, felt her walk across his small room, felt her weight as she sat on the bunk next to him. Felt her hand close over his, which were clasped in his lap. He forced himself not to pull away.  
  
“You can’t avoid us forever, you know,” Hera said.  
  
“I’m not avoiding you,” Kanan said, hating the sulky note that crept into his voice. He could hear Master Billaba in the back of his head, chiding him against self-pity.  
  
“You are,” Hera repeated, steadily. “And you don’t have to. We’re your family, Kanan. We need you.”  
  
Kanan shook his head.  
  
“You don’t need a blind man stumbling around, ruining missions and getting you into trouble,” he said.  
  
“We’re always getting into trouble anyway, and you’ll get better at the stumbling part. Besides, we both know you can fight without your vision,” she said. She hesitated for a moment. “Kanan, Ezra has been – distant since you two returned from Malachor. He needs his master.”  
  
“Ezra?” he laughed. “What can I possibly offer Ezra now? I was never a good enough teacher for him, and now – “ Kanan broke off, feeling the emotion threatening to choke him off. He breathed deeply.  
  
“Kanan Jarrus, do not give me that line. Not again,” Hera said, almost sharply. “You are good enough. You’re exactly the teacher Ezra needed, just as he was the padawan you needed. You losing your vision doesn’t change that. It doesn’t change the bond you two have.”  
  
Kanan felt Hera’s slender hands on either side of his face, turning it to face her own.  
  
“I can’t see you,” he whispered.  
  
“You can always see me,” Hera said firmly. “I need you to promise me something.”  
  
“Anything,” he murmured. He would give her anything, even now. He would offer her the galaxy if he could get it, if he knew that it would make her happy.  
  
“Promise me that you’ll stop hiding in this room,” Hera said.  
  
“I’m not hiding!” Kanan protested.  
  
“You are,” Hera said. She tilted his head towards hers until their foreheads were touching.  
  
“I know this is hard for you. I can’t imagine what it’s like,” she continued, her voice a low whisper. “But you are the strongest person I know. You will get through this. We will get through this.”  
  
_We._ It was incredible, after all these years, a simple word from Hera could make his heart pound. He could feel her soft breath on his cheek.  
  
“Promise me,” she whispered. “Promise you will come back to me.”  
  
Kanan realized with a jolt that Hera wasn’t just asking on behalf of Ezra, or the crew, but herself. He hadn’t slept in her room since they had gotten back to Chopper base, hadn’t kissed her since before they left for Malachor. He felt a deep well of shame in his stomach, as a truth he hadn’t wanted to admit to himself came tumbling out of his mouth.  
  
“I don’t know what I can offer you, Hera,” he said, his voice cracking, a tear squeezing out from his closed, sightless eyes. “You need a partner who can fight with you, with the rebellion. You need someone – whole.”  
  
Hera kissed him softly. It was quick, and feather light, just a brush of lips before she pulled away and placed her forehead back against his.  
  
“Losing your vision doesn’t make you broken, Kanan. And it doesn’t change my feelings for you,” Hera took a deep, shuddering breath. “When you were on Malachor, I was so worried about you. I was so worried that I would lose you.”  
  
She paused, formulating what to say next. That was another thing he loved about Hera. She always chose her words carefully, made sure that every sentence carried weight.  
  
“You came back. So why do I still feel like I’m losing you?” she whispered.  
  
Kanan pulled her into a tight embrace, felt her shuddering breath against his chest.  
  
“You will _never _lose me,” he said firmly, feeling the most certain he had since Malachor. “I will _always _be there for you.”  
  
Hera pulled away slowly.  
  
“So stop trying to push me away,” she said. “Come back from Malachor. Come back to me.”  
  
Kanan still didn’t know if he was worthy – stars, he had always known he wasn’t worthy of Hera. But she loved him. She wanted him. And he never, ever wanted to let her down.  
  
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m here with you.”  
  
And although he couldn’t see her face, he placed his hand on her cheek and pulled her to him, kissing her like he hadn’t been able to in months. There had always been something in the way – the mission, the kids. But now there was nothing between him, only his pride. And pride wasn’t worth losing Hera for.  
  
He pressed his mouth against hers, deepening the kiss. Hera twined her hand in his hair, ignoring the ponytail, and he pulled her softly from her seat next to him onto his lap.  
  
“Whoa there,” Hera said, pulling away, but he could hear the smile in her voice. Feel her blazing presence in the force, feel his heart banging against his ribs like it always did, like it had the first time she kissed him. “Are you sure about this?”  
  
Kanan knew she wasn’t just talking about the kiss.  
  
“I’m sure,” he whispered. He laid back onto the bunk, shifting his position so that his head was on the pillow, but making sure to keep a hold of Hera’s waist the entire time. He wasn’t letting go of her so easily, not now. Hera huffed a little laugh of surprise and delight – stars, he loved her laugh – and leaned down so that her face was hovering just inches above his.  
  
“Stay right here,” she whispered.  
  
“I thought you wanted me to stop spending time in my room,” Kanan teased. “Have I changed your mind?”  
  
Hera gave him a swift kiss on his cheek.  
  
“Occasionally, exceptions will be made,” she said seriously.  
  
She leaned down to kiss him, her hand once again wending its way through his hair. She gave it a gentle tug. He held her tighter, pulling her closer to him as they kissed.  
  
I love you, he thought.  
  
He pulled away from the kiss, more than a little pleased by the soft, unhappy noise Hera made as he did so.  
  
“I love you, Hera,” he said. Although he knew she wasn’t sensitive, he sent a gentle prod through the force, enveloping her with the warmth of his feeling for her. “Thank you for reminding me who I am.”  
  
He may not be able to see Hera, but he knew she was smiling. He put a hand on her cheek, and she leaned into it.  
  
“It’s good to have you back,” she whispered, ducking down to kiss him again.____

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing fanfic for years, but this is the first one I've ever actually put up for real actual people to read...So I hope it didn't suck! Also I have no idea how to title, just stole this shamelessly from the song "Set Fire to the Third Bar." People make titles based on lyrics, right?


End file.
